Esquire hidden pickup

[godi]

Esquire or Telecaster hidden pickup

I've been thinking to build pickups using Neodymium, the strongest type of permanent magnet, but after reading a lot about the Neo magnets on different musical Forums, I came to the conclusion that a too strong magnet is killing the vibration of the strings that want to stick to the magnets reducing the sustain of the instrument. So I left the idea in the drawer for a while. Then a light came on, what about a hidden pickup under the pickguard of a Esquire or a third pickup on a Telecaster that would be further away from the strings ? Lets try the idea.

So I ordered some .125 inch (1/8") Diameter rod by .625 inch (5/8") long Neodymium magnets. In a attempt to obtain a fatter tone than the standard Tele pickups, I builded the bobbin 0.375 inch (3/8") tall just in between of a typical Strat pickup at about 0.500 inch (1/2") tall and a P-90 at 0.250 inch (1/4") tall, hoping to fattening the tone a bit.

I made the bobbin using curly maple a bit wider (less hight = more wight for the same number of turns) and again, to be in between a Fender single coil and a Gibson P-90, I tryed 9250 turns. String spacing 2 inchs for a middle Tele pickup.



Here it is with 9267 turns of 42 gauge magnet wire giving a resistance 6.91K Ohms.

Enjoy.

[Magnut]

Very cool! It's looks fantastic.

Now the ultimate question, how does it sound work?

I think it was a great idea. I am interested to see how it worked out...

[David Schwab]

Neo magnets work fine, but don't use rod magnets. Use steel poles and charge them with neos.

[RedHouse]

Esquire or Telecaster hidden pickup

I've been thinking to build pickups using Neodymium, the strongest type of permanent magnet, but after reading a lot about the Neo magnets on different musical Forums, I came to the conclusion that a too strong magnet is killing the vibration of the strings that want to stick to the magnets reducing the sustain of the instrument. So I left the idea in the drawer for a while. Then a light came on, what about a hidden pickup under the pickguard of a Esquire or a third pickup on a Telecaster that would be further away from the strings ? Lets try the idea.

So I ordered some .125 inch (1/8") Diameter rod by .625 inch (5/8") long Neodymium magnets. In a attempt to obtain a fatter tone than the standard Tele pickups, I builded the bobbin 0.375 inch (3/8") tall just in between of a typical Strat pickup at about 0.500 inch (1/2") tall and a P-90 at 0.250 inch (1/4") tall, hoping to fattening the tone a bit.

I made the bobbin using curly maple a bit wider (less hight = more wight for the same number of turns) and again, to be in between a Fender single coil and a Gibson P-90, I tryed 9250 turns. String spacing 2 inchs for a middle Tele pickup.



Here it is with 9267 turns of 42 gauge magnet wire giving a resistance 6.91K Ohms.

Enjoy.

Looks excellent!

[godi]

Hidden pickup

Well, I like the result of a fatter bobbin and the sound is pretty good when the pickup is place to about 1/4 inch from the strings, at 1/2 inch to sound is thin and week. So I'm going to build an other one using 3/16 inch diameter Neo mags instead of the 1/8 inch I used.

[Michael Allen]

David,

So similar to a humbucker you use a bar along the bottom of steel pole pieces? Then you have all the same issues as with PAFs about steel make-up affecting sound right?

[David Schwab]

David,

So similar to a humbucker you use a bar along the bottom of steel pole pieces? Then you have all the same issues as with PAFs about steel make-up affecting sound right?

Yes, but it's not issues. You will find that using neo rods might have the tone way too bright. Same would be true if you used ceramic rod magnets. They are both low inductance magnets. The steel will raise the inductance and give you a warmer tone. And even then, neos can be very bright for single coils.

Also using a blade instead of poles will pull the strings less, since the magnetic field is more evenly distributed.

My experience with neos is that you have to change the recipe for the pickup to match the magnets. Such as the example above, you can wind a lot more wire and not get muddy.

But it's all about what you are trying to achieve. My point was I'd rather temper the magnets than move the pickup far from the strings. I set my neo bass pickups almost touching the strings. They sound best that way, and don't pull the strings out of tune (stratitus).

Oh and Jean, I meant to say that is a beautiful looking pickup.

[Billy Bones]

You're gonna hide that thing under the pg? I've had the same idea for an esquire, but in my head the pup wasn't so purdy.

Billy Bones

[Stealth]

Wow, looks really classy. Hope to hear how it sounds, it might really give the Esquire a bit extra twang.

[Old Tele man]

Same would be true if you used ceramic rod magnets. They are both low inductance magnets. The steel will raise the inductance and give you a warmer tone.

...people forget that a coil with a metallic (iron) core is a one-sided transformer called a choke, and the amount (and type) of core material affects the chokes effective inductance, which in turn affects its reactance and frequency response.

[edwierdbluez]

under pickguard sounds like a idea that is right now

Hiya there nice work on the pickup it is beautifull. I have been giving these new magnets some thought as well.I have always been a fan of the fender marauder guitar the rare bird as it is and the problem they had with that idea was in the magnets but the sounds it could achieve were great for recording.Of course I am talking about the 1966 prototype by H.Quilla with the four pickups concealed beneath the pickguard not the multi switch slanted fret one.I think the newer materials might respark this idea thanks for the brainstorm!